April 14, 2007
Box Score
The George Mason baseball team surrendered a pair of unearned runs during a four-run third inning and then gave up five runs in the ninth and James Madison got effective pitching from Kurt Houck out of the bullpen as the Patriots fell to James Madison on Saturday, 11-5 in the second game of a three-game Colonial Athletic Association series. The rubber match is slated for Sunday at 1 p.m., weather permitting.
Jason Bour and Scott Krieger combined for four of Mason's 10 hits and they also scored three of Mason's five runs but the Patriots (17-18, 10-9) were unable to sustain any rallies in the game. The Dukes (12-24, 5-11), meanwhile, got eight hits, eight runs and six RBI out of their 2-4 hitters, Kellen Kulbacki, Lee Bujakowski and Davis Stoneburner. Houck improved to 2-6 on the year while Mason's Dan Jaycox fell to 1-2.
Mason struck first on Saturday, putting a pair of runs on the board in the bottom of the second. Scott Krieger, who was 0 for 5 on Friday, singled up the middle in his first at-bat and Jason Bour hit a one-out homer to right. The Dukes struck back immediately with Joe Lake reaching on a one-out single in the third, Kulbacki singling to right with two outs and Bujakowski blooping a single to shallow right to make it 2-1. Stoneburner followed with a single to left and the game was tied. Mitchell Moses followed with an infield fly that fell perfectly between the second baseman Chris Fournier and Jaycox. That should have left the bases loaded with two outs, but Fournier tried to catch Bujakowski who had made a wide turn at third. Instead, Fournier's throw went into left field and two runs came home for a 4-2 Madison lead.
In the fifth, Jaycox walked Kulbacki on a 3-2 pitch to lead off the inning then surrendered a homer to Bujakowski, also on a 3-2 pitch. Mason cut the lead in half in the bottom of the fifth when Jason Bour led off with a triple and he came home on Justin Bour's grounder to make it 6-3. Bour was safe at first when second baseman Steven Caseras committed a fielding error on the play. Later in the inning, Chris Henderson singled to left with two outs and Spencer Wiggins reached on a bunt single to load the bases and end Justin Wood's outing. Kurt Houck came on in relief and he struck out Fournier to end the threat.
In the seventh, Mason got the leadoff batter on as Dan Palumbo singled just over the head of the second baseman. He went to second on a groundout by Brent Weiss and scored on a two-out single by Spencer Wiggins, who is 10 for 15 on the week. In the ninth, the Dukes added insurance runs as Alex Foltz doubled with two outs, Kulbacki was intentionally walked and Bujakowski blooped a single to right. Stoneburner followed with a single to left to make it 8-4. Matt Browning then hit the first pitch he saw for a home run and an 11-4 lead.
Justin Bour's solo homer to lead off the ninth, his 11th of the year, accounted for the final score.
The Patriots will return to action on Sunday when they conclude their three-game series with the Dukes at Spuhler Field. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m., weather permitting. Information on the game's status can be found on GoMason.com or on the Patriot Sports Hotline at (703) 993-4074. There will only be an update if there is a change in the game's status.
